Patch 5.2 - Increased Drop Rates in 5.0 LFR
It seems that the LFR drop rates will be increased for the current Patch 5.0 LFR content once Patch 5.2 is released.

Defense of the Alehouse
It appears that Defense of the Alehouse may be the DotA style battleground that is under development. It looks like many of the buildings are placeholders, so keep in mind this is still a very early preview.

It is unlikely this battleground will be in Patch 5.2, as the last official word was that it still needed new tech. Also, see the below tweet from Ghostcrawler that was in response to existing quiver models, but also applies to this preview.

Patch 5.2 - LFR Item Level Requirement

Originally Posted by Blizzard
(Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Just checked out the PTR, and there's an ilvl486 requirement to enter the new LFR.

Now, there's no new 5 mans to buff our ilvl, so for non-raiders... exactly how are we supposed to reach this without PvP when the current LFRs drop 476 and 483s? Am I missing something here? Do you expect non-raiders to spend months (to the point the raid after thunder king is released) getting valor to buy that gear for ilvl?

I know it's PTR, and it might just be inflated for testing purposes, but it seems a bit weird that you would place the ilvl requirement for the new raid above the ilvl of the gear that drops in the previous LFR.
I think you've hit the nail on the head by saying it's a PTR. That's the most important thing to remember. We'll do our best to keep you informed on where we end up with the item level for the Raid Finder when we can.

With some of the really unpopular changes being pushed from the PTR to the live realms, there's a feeling by several of us in the community that if we don't speak up (and speak up a lot) over things that we greatly dislike.... Then it'll go live.

We know it's the PTR, but realistically... I don't think we'd be having the level of conversation concerning it if it had even been 483. (A much more realistic number as this is the Ilevel for the current LFR drops.)

The other frustrating part is that several of the people saying this isn't a big deal don't seem to understand that the requirement works off an average. Not simply having one piece at that point. There seems to be a lack of understanding with how this system actually works.
Completely understood and we do want people to speak up about their experiences or thoughts as long as they remember to remain constructive, (which you have.) My post wasn't meant as a, "OK stop talking now." It was just meant as a way of conveying that it is still PTR and things could have the potential to change. Please feel free to continue to discuss though.

Blue Posts

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

Eye of the Black Prince Issue
There’s currently no way to obtain an additional Eye of the Black Prince, and we’re aware it can create a situation where people are deterred from wanting to upgrade their items. That’s not the intent, we want you to use it and enjoy the upgrade then and there, and so we’re looking into a way for players to obtain additional sockets similar to how you can purchase additional legendary gems. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

WoW City SizesBecause they are really just a representation. Having all the villages, towns etc their *proper* sizes would make them massive ingame.
Pretty much this. Massive in-game towns and cities can become tedious and annoying real fast in MMORPGs because of the increased travel distances they cause... you already spend a lot of time travelling around in WoW (and other games like it), so if everything from small towns to huge continents were redone so that everything has realistic proportion and size, you would need enormous amounts of time just to travel from place to place.

Towns and cities may look really awesome and have the perfect atmosphere if they are of realistic size in games (I personally know this from other MMORPGs I have played(Yes, I enjoyed playing them)), but it is annoying to be in them because you always have a lot of running to do even for the simplest tasks that are supposed to be quick... long runs between vendors, quest NPCs, banks, AHs, and other points of interest. (Blue Tracker / Official Forums)

Blue Tweets

Originally Posted by Blizzard Entertainment

UI / AddonsCould a role selection (DPS etc), be implemented on the calendar when players sign up for events? Would make life easier!
Yes, we'd like to add that. (Source)

What exactly is your stance regarding that? There are a lot of addons that could vastly improve the glyph interface.
Philosophically, we have no problem with customization, just automation. Would like to allow former while protecting the latter. (Source)

Please stop being so restrictive about the Glyph/Talent UI. It's driving people nuts, I loathe the moment I have to change!
Philosophically, we don't want automating talent or glyph swaps. Once it's easy to reglyph every pull, players feel like they must. (Source)I'm sorry did you just say you use "bugs" to prevent reglyphing every pull? Or misunderstood Znuff's tweet?
I said we want to be very careful about the degree to which we let players automate talent or gylph swapping. (Source)improve the glyph interface? it's already wickedly easy to use and simple. some players and their addon addictions
Philosophically, we're okay with players changing the UI. We just want to protect against too much automation. (Source)

Ever thought about adding a UI feature/option that displayed character health as number & percentage, instead of either/or?
Yes, and you should be able to try it out in 5.2. (Source)

Hey who makes those icons for all the spells and abilities? I love those icon art!
The art team shares the work. Good icons are hard to do so it's amazing they can make so many. (Source)

can you guys improve the BM AH UI sometime down the road? I just lost 25k gold thinking i bid on a mount but it didn't.
Is it the "hot deals" button that throws people off? (Source)It's confusion between trying to bid on a short/ending and having your money automatically go to hot deal.
We can just have one bid button. I think that is in the works for 5.2. (Source)

Reputation / QuestingWhy are dungeon tabards a mistake? Alot of people WANT them back so that they are not forced into doing dalies.
Let me put it this way: What if dungeon tabards gave Honor, then you wouldn't have to PvP either? (Source)

Rep Tabards weren't a mistake, removing them was. They allowed multiple ways to get rep, which was great if you hate dailies.
Today, gear can come from dungeons, reps, raiding, PvP or crafting. (Source)
They allowed dungeons to give rep, valor and purples, making them the only real option. (Source)

Not sure if you're the guy, but 5.1 rep grind was great. It didn't feel like a grind. You wanted to progress the story.
We agree. It felt more reasonable. (Source)You should not send people into enemy hubs in PVE dailies. You should not put PVP objectives in a PVE zone
Why? (Source)

But endless rep grinding is an artificial way of trying to prolong an exp. It's not fun, it's boring busy-work
None of those reps are anything you absolutely must have, and by "endless" aren't we really talking about a few weeks? (Source)Not required? No profession recipes or valor gear if I don't. More than one character. Game shouldn't feel like a job.
I think you mean "I want to get ALL the recipes." You don't need e.g. Royal Satchel or Gloves of Creation. (Source)

Will we ever need the extra Sigils from the legendary questline once we've completed the quest? Or can we trash them safely?
Trash away (unless you're a compulsive packrat). (Source)

Like dailies now? They suck, but provided the most efficient way to grind Valor/rep unlike Mech there is no alternative
Raids, dungeons, scenarios and challenge modes offer a pretty good alternative for valor generation. How bad do you need the rep? (Source)

Ghostcrawler - Getting in to the Gaming Industry
Ghostcrawler's first longer than 140 character post in a few months was a reply to an eight year old that wants to get in to the gaming industry. He included some advice that was relevant to everyone!

I was keeping an eye on that post by the 8 year olds mum, was pleasantly surprised to see Ghostcrawler respond, shows you that they do care about their customers, a very info packed post too, hopefully it helps all those out there that are looking to get into the gaming industry!

I swear, for all the devs manage to catch, some of the most obvious stuff falls through. They made the gems buyable, why would they not make the Eye of the Black Prince something you can get copies of after the quest?

I don't understand how anyone could say about the 5.1 rep "It didn't feel like a grind. You wanted to progress the story.".
Where is the story in it? It's just been doing the same quests over and over again... like a grind. No story to speak of.

I don't understand how anyone could say about the 5.1 rep "It didn't feel like a grind. You wanted to progress the story.".
Where is the story in it? It's just been doing the same quests over and over again... like a grind. No story to speak of.

I don't understand how anyone could say about the 5.1 rep "It didn't feel like a grind. You wanted to progress the story.".
Where is the story in it? It's just been doing the same quests over and over again... like a grind. No story to speak of.

I think in your rush to whine about dailies you've become confused- he's talking about the 5.1 dailies, ie the ones that tie rep gained in dailies to the progression of the Divine Bell storyline. A very elegant solution for getting players invested in the dailies and the faction they support. Suspect we'll see more of this in 5.2 and future patches...

I don't mind the dailies telling a story, but putting all Valor rewards behind Rep and then claiming that the rep grind is completely optional is a joke. Valor was always about spending your "bonus" points on gear to help you progress vertically, especially when you're on a string of bad luck and just can't get your loot to drop from other sources, in this case: raids and LFR. Outside of item upgrade (which is still fairly new and doesn't seem to be returning quite yet come 5.2), Valor is a complete waste of a resource if you don't do the rep grind. You may not have to get Exalted with a faction, that's for sure, but you better at least strive for Honored/Revered.